Samantha Stosur wins HP Open, finally crowns singles career

World No.15 Samantha Stosur has been a strong competitor on the Tour – 22 doubles titles, a bunch of Top 10 wins, career high of No.1 in doubles and No.13 in singles – still, up to this day, there were no singles titles in her résumé.

At the HP Open in Osaka Stosur finally won a singles final, on her sixth attempt, defeating Francesca Schiavone 7-5 6-1. The third-seeded Stosur grabbed the first break of the match in the last game of the first set and confidently cruised through the second set. Schiavone, who was seeded fourth in Osaka, has now fallen to 1-10 in career finals.

I was happy to see that Stosur finally won a title. I like it when a player does something well-like get to the semis of a major (RG) and then consolidates it. She has been on the brink of winning several times and has beaten many higher seeds.